On Friday the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, Ontario released the paper Embedding Privacy into the Design of EHRs to Enable Multiple Functionalities – Win/Win authored by the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario Dr. Ann Cavoukian and Richard C. Alvarez, President and CEO of Canada Health Infoway.

From the March 2, 2012 news release:

Research indicates that Canadians have a degree of comfort with using EHR information for such purposes, as long as privacy and security protections are in place. The paper underscores the need for transparency in the way EHR information is managed and safeguarded.

This week the Supreme Court of Canada released the decision in Richard v. Time Inc., considering an appeal of prohibited business practices in marketing under Quebec’s Consumer Protection Act. John Gregory summarized the case on Slaw previously here.

The plaintiff received $1,000 in compensatory damages and $15,000 in punitive damages after he received a direct mailing from the defendant that appeared to indicate that he had won a Cash Prize of $833,337.00. The Quebec Court of Appeal reversed the trial judge’s decision in favour of the plaintiff, indicating that the campaign did not explicitly make any promises and . . . [more]

even for civil litigators.

on CanLII

or

http://www.ontariocourts.ca/decisions/2012/2012ONCA0138.htm

until it shows up

Judgments from each of Watt JA (dissenting), Feldman JA, and Blair JA, concurring in the result.

From Blair JA’s reasons

[151] For centuries, judges, lawyers and academics have devoted much thought and debate to the questions of what does or does not constitute hearsay evidence and why and in what circumstances, and what are the principles underlying the admissibility of such evidence. The authors of McWilliams’ Canadian Criminal Evidence observe that “[f]or more than two centuries the common law has woven a web of complex rules and exceptions

“Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Predictions,” the 2012 edition. This can be a quick read, or, with its extensive footnotes, a larger project.

Some Standouts:

• “Big data” powers commerce and advertizing
• Widespread adoption of the $100 smartphone
• 3D printing: here, but not there yet
• MRI and advertizing

Naturally, as a service offered to international corporate culture, it exhibits characteristic blindspots. For instance, it does not consider the implications the successful peer-to-peer online organizing for big data projects. Still, it is well footnoted, so there lots to chew on. . . . [more]

What does context mean for legal information? “Context” is one of the latest buzzwords in the world of publishing. In a new online collection of essays, Book: A Futurist’s Manifesto, Brian O’Leary exhorts us to consider context when we are developing content. He defines context as “tagged content, research, footnoted links, sources, and audio and video background, as well as title-level metadata”. Although his focus is trade publishing, his ideas apply to legal publishing as well.

Christine Kirchberger, lecturer and doctoral candidate at Stockholm University, is working on a doctoral dissertation entitled “Legal information as a tool—Where legal . . . [more]

This is a letter, a rare thing nowadays. It was posted in 1845 by Miss Elizabeth Barrett to Mr. Robert Browning, one of 573 love letters exchanged by the two in the course of twenty-one months, all of which are held—and made available online—by Baylor University and Wellesley College.

Coming at them through this link, you’ll see a chronological catalogue, with date, sender and the first line spelled out. (Simply letting your eye drop down the first lines, is a treat; they tease and delight even—or perhaps especially—in this truncated form.) A link beside each item takes . . . [more]

by Ashley Major

Ashley Major is a Canadian student completing an internship at Independent Academic Research Studies in London, England. Upon the completion of this internship, she will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Human Justice from the University of Regina. She plans to attend law school in the future, specializing in human rights law. Her main focus is on addressing human rights violations against women, particularly sex trafficking.

In Canada, there have been discussions as to whether or not we live in a “rape culture”. Although difficult to define, this term refers to a society in which . . . [more]

This is a post in a series appearing each Friday, setting out some articles, videos, podcasts and the like that contributors at Slaw are enjoying and that you might find interesting. The articles tend to be longer than blog posts and shorter than books, just right for that stolen half hour on the weekend. It’s also likely that most of them won’t be about law — just right for etc.

Please let us have your recommendations for what we and our readers might like.

You may have heard about helicopter parenting – the overprotective parent who hovers over their child on the playground, maybe takes them to university, stays in the dorm for a few weeks, maybe even to law school… Well Justice McGee of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice will have none of this! In 2011, she issued an ex parte order preventing a party’s mother from representing him in a family law case. Mom had represented son in his Nova Scotia divorce proceeding. The divorce proceedings were acrimonious and the ill-feelings between Mom and her former daughter-in-law are evident in the . . . [more]

I just learned of the existence of a bulletin called Connected, which is published by two US-based organizations, the National Center for State Courts and the Conference of Court Public Information Officers.

According to the inaugural April 2011 issue:

“This newsletter will provide news, information and resources on topics such as how courts are using new media, the impact of new media on court proceedings, ethical implications of judges and court staff using new media, and court policy issues relating to new media.”

The focus is American but there is occasionally material about non-US matters, as in . . . [more]

http://www.charterproject.ca/

WHY SHOULD I CARE ABOUT THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CANADIAN CHARTER OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS?

LOVE IT, HATE IT, OR JUST DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU THINK, IT’S TIME TO JOIN THE DISCUSSION!

As millions today around the world are protesting for basic freedoms, on April 17, 2012, Canadians will mark 30 years with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a document which seeks to guarantee fundamental human rights, from speech, to religion, to association.

At the University of Windsor, Faculty of Law, the Class of 2012 knew that their graduation coincided with the Charter’s 30th anniversary and decided . . . [more]

Lacking The Right Stuff, Sylvio Langevin finds his Galaxy Quest over just as he launched his Mission to Mars. With the prospect of A New Hope subject to leave of the Men (and women) in Black, perhaps he should seek Serenity, abandon his quest and make The Voyage Home.

In a Langevin (Re), a decision released last week but published on CanLII just yesterday, the Quebec Superior Court declared Langevin a “quarrelsome litigant” and barred him from bringing any further action without leave.

That order alone, though infrequently issued and a factually and legally . . . [more]